In a survey commissioned by Turner Construction Company, one of the leading general builders in the U.S., the results show that green building costs less than the general public thinks, but this misconception is still the primary obstacle to mass acceptance.
This year’s Market Barometer took a snapshot of the views of senior executives on the benefits and costs of Green buildings, with a focus on Green educational facilities – K-12 and higher educational facilities. Green buildings were defined as buildings which use design and construction practices to significantly reduce or eliminate negative effects on the environment and occupants.
More K-12 school districts and higher educational institutions recognize that Green facilities provide a more effective learning environment. The interest in Green educational facilities is part of a broader recognition of the critical importance of the physical environment to the health and performance of students and teachers. Large percentages of executives at organizations involved with Green K-12 facilities rated them more highly than traditional facilities on a range of benefits:
Which Green features of K-12 facilities are most important? 49% cited improved indoor air quality as most important, while 37% named increased natural lighting.
Most of the executives involved with Green college and university facilities also reported similar benefits:
But executives remain concerned about the higher construction costs of Green schools, often due to inaccurate estimates of the costs required to incorporate Green features. Only 50% of K-12 executives say that school districts typically consider total costs over the lifecycle of a new construction project, whereas 73% of higher education executives typically consider long term costs. Even when these costs are considered, school districts and higher educational institutions usually give them less weight than initial costs.
Most executives believe that Green educational facilities have lower total long-term costs since they benefit from significantly reduced energy and other operating expenses. 73% of K-12 executives with Green facilities and 80% with Green college facilities expect total costs over 20 years to be lower than for traditional facilities. Even 65% of executives who haven’t been involved with Green educational facilities think that 20-year costs would be lower.
Despite the fact that almost three-quarters of executives say that colleges and universities typically considered total lifecycle costs when constructing new facilities, only 5% of these executives say that total lifecycle costs are most important; 57% say the greatest emphasis is still on initial costs.
All in all, executives have increasingly positive views on the benefits of Green construction – both on the health and productivity of school and building occupants and also on reducing long-term costs through achieving lower operating costs.
“The overall message of these findings is that far more education and information are still required about the experience with Green construction. Although most executives believed that Green facilities generate a host of benefits to their occupants and also are less expensive over time, executives appeared to lack confidence that they can achieve these outcomes. Many executives don’t yet recognize the proven track record that exists for sustainable construction and the growing acceptance of Green construction standards provided by the LEED Green building standards,” stated Rod Wille, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Construction, Turner Construction.
The self-administered survey was conducted over the Internet from August 12-26, 2005. Bayer Consulting, on behalf of Turner Construction, surveyed 665 executives on Green building issues who were involved with buildings either as owners of rental buildings, owner-occupants, developers, construction firms, architects, engineers, consultants, and educational institutions.
www.turnerconstruction.com
Green Building Survey: 70% of Executives Believe Green Buildings Make Better Schools
(Visited 24 times, 4 visits today)
Loading...